Oral History Feature: Paul Stahlschmidt
With the parks and trails reopening we reflect on our interview with Conservationist and mountain biker, Paul Stahlschmidt. He reminds us that we need to be mindful of the impact we make on our shared outdoor resources.
"I have more concerns about the sensitive vegetation and the environmental impact with too much use than someone who gets gored by going up to a bison in Yellowstone. If you want to do that, it comes with the territory of being pretty irresponsible. If you’re going to fall off a cliff because that’s what you want to do, that’s your choice. But places that are just getting the traffic because, think about a place like Rough Ridge, it's just beat down.
And why is it beat down? Because it’s a rite of passage for every App State student to get their Chaco’s from Mast Store, buy your Eno (hammock), go up to Rough Ridge and find somewhere in the woods to hang – too many stereotypes there. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s really, really cool – but is the resource damaged because of that? Absolutely. Can it be fortified to deal with that kind of traffic? Probably.
In trail building world, there’s ways you can kind of do that, I think the parking lot is one issue that’s going to be hard to solve, but the actual trail, the sedimentation, the runoff and the erosion and rain because the trail’s compacted and not functioning properly, that’s something that can be addressed. "
So please when you go out to play, think about how your activity impacts the health of the trail, the wildlife, and those around you.
Now get out and enjoy the sunshine!